Das Ruínas do Escravismo: subalternidade, ganho e marginalização no Rio de Janeiro 1871-1920

Abstract

The present work deals with the transition between “colonial slavery” and “dependent capitalism” in the city of Rio de Janeiro. We started from an extensive bibliographical discussion that aimed to revalidate the singularity of “slavery” as a mode of production, originally presented by Jacob Gorender. Therefore, we compare the recent criticisms and contributions both with the author's propositions and with the interpretations offered by the Marxist Dependence Theory and the World-Systems Theory, in order to elaborate an analytical instrument capable of examining the transitional period. For this purpose, the definition of “technological revolutions” developed by Darcy Ribeiro made it possible to elaborate the concept of dependent transition. Armed with this tool, we investigated, even in the first part, the transitional cycle of capital in its historical transformation of simple and expanded accumulation patterns, and the role of the State as a material condensation of social struggles in favoring or delaying this transition. Then, we proceed to the assessment of the characteristic elements of reconfiguration of the socio-occupational dynamics in the city of Rio de Janeiro, starting with the enactment of the Law of the “Free Womb” in 1871 and, final, the year 1920, with critical use of the data present in the censuses carried out in 1872, 1890, 1906 and 1920. Due to the inconsistency and discrepancy of criteria in demographic surveys, we proposed an equivalence methodology so that the professional numbers could be compared in their evolution. From this perspective, we use the advertisements contained in the Almanak Laemmert as an autonomous observation device and at the same time as a possibility to correct the inaccuracy of the Censuses. Our main objective was to explore the conformation of the “subordinate” and “oppressed” classes from the end of slavery in the face of the inaugural process of industrialization of the urban space in Rio. In this sense, we present the concept of ganho (wage-earning system) as a reproduction performance of the workforce that overcome “wage-earning slaves” and “free wage-earners”, regularly enrolled by the State, and achieves, on the one hand, the transience and volatility of access to jobs and, on the other hand, the insufficient proportional generation of these same jobs, caused by the economic transformations of the period in confrontation with the accelerated population growth. Finally, we consider the structuring role of ideological mechanisms such as racism and patriarchy in the distribution of individuals in the strata of the social hierarchy.